Stockpiling Beans and Bullets For Surviving SHTF

Lets say SHTF tomorrow, what would your survival gear stockpile look like? For a lot of survivalist it would be mostly beans and bullets – meaning not very much thought has been put into the plans.

When the SurvivalistBoards youtube channel was opened, I wanted to publish a wide range of videos. The plans were to post videos about everything from gardening to wilderness survival. There are certain topics that do better then others. It seems that fishing videos probably do the worst in view counts, and firearm videos do the best.

But to have a balanced channel and blog, I think one should cover a wide range of topics. It seems that example videos and articles work best. Instead of saying what people should do, I show people what I am doing, and end it with that. Then let the viewer make up their own mind.

How does all of this relate to stockpiling survival gear? When dealing with survivalism, I do not think its enough to just stockpile bullets and beans. A well rounded, long term SHTF survival plan, should cover as much information and resources as possible. It is not enough to buy a case of 7.62×39, store some rice and beans in mylar bags, and then proclaim you have a well rounded survival plan. Ammo, rice and beans are not a well rounded plan.
Lets look at a well rounded SHTF food plan:

If there is a failure in the plan, there should be a backup plan, and then a backup to the backup plan. I like having plans hat are at least 2 and sometimes 3 levels deep.

Lets take fishing as an example, I am stockpiling fishing gear for perch, bass and catfish. With trotlines and jugs I can have hooks in the water 24/7, and not “just” when I am standing on the bank with my rod. Recently I have been setting out some trotlines to test my survival plans and my gear. I learned that the hooks that I bought were too small for some of the catfish.

On a couple of trotlines some big catfish got on the hook, bent the hook enough to get off, and I was left with nothing to eat. The next time I went to the sporting goods store I bought larger hooks. Now its just a matter of getting back out on the river, and testing the new hooks.

Different Types of Survivalist

There are the people that have no real plans or supplies, their only real plain is to stand there with their hand out asking for help.

There are the bug out survivalist, their plans are to bug out to the wilderness and live off the land.

There are the beans and bullets. These types of people focus on stockpiling a narrow range of supplies, which is mainly bullets along with rice and beans in mylar bags.

There are the radical survivalist, that think the government is out to them. These types bask in the idea of stockpiling weapons and ammo for the coming war with the federal government.

The rural survivalist, someone that might live in a rural area on a small farm.

The isolationist, the survivalist that tries to cut all ties with modern world. These types of people may try to live off the “grid”.

The prepper, someone who checks their supplies from time to time.

The modern survivalist, someone who uses modern technology to make their survival plans.

One a certain forum that shall not be named, a member did not even have electricity in their house. They had solar panels that they used to run light bulbs. But for internet, the husband and wife went to a local coffee shop and used the free wi-fi. It kinda stuck me as odd that someone would not have electricity in their house, but would drive to a coffee shop.

A certain individual I knew back in the 1980s knocked holes in every wall of his house, and then put a firearm in the wall. He thought the federal government was after him, and he wanted a firearm within reach when the government raided his house. As fat as I know, 25 years later the guy has never been arrested or bothered by the government. This individual is what I consider a radical survivalist.

Its easy to get wrapped up in a conspiracy theory, but do not let them consume your life. Just because there might be a video on youtube about something, take it with a grain of salt.

Well Rounded Survival Plans

To have a well rounded survival plan, its important to look at more then just stockpiling a certain few items. What about sanitation, personal hygiene, places for people to sleep, ability to cook for a group of people, having a secure bug out location, stockpiling hand soap, tooth brushes and toothpaste for people that might use your house as a bug out location.

When your looking at stockpiling food, do you take the extended family into consideration? There was a question on the forum about stockpiling rice for SHTF, and how much rice we are planning for each person for 1 year. My reply was:

As for “per person”, I can not plan like that. I do not know how many of my kids and grandkids will show up needing food.

My wife has 3 grown children that live locally, and then we have 8 grandkids through those 3 grown kids. If I said 50 pounds of rice per person, that would be 5 X 50, or 250 pounds of rice for my wife, myself, and 3 grown kids, then another X amount of rice for the grandkids.

With those numbers, your talking an easy 300 or 400 pounds of rice. I just do not have “that” much room that I can dedicate to just rice.

I would like to have 100 – 150 pounds of rice stored in mylar bags. I think that is a reasonable number.

Survivalist need to look past the end of their noses, and consider more then just “their” needs. The needs of children, grandkids, parents, brothers, sisters, and maybe even aunts, uncles and cousins should also be planned for.

Financial Survival

There are a lot of survivalist that say “once the SHTF, I am never coming home.” Then a flood or tornado destroys their house and they have to start all over again. There is a greater chance of a home being destroyed, then some kind of new plague breaking out.

After Hurricane Ike hit southeast Texas, a lot of people were caught off guard. Places in south Houston, Orange, and Bridge City that never flooded got several feet of storm surge. There were lots of families that did not have flood insurance, and had to rebuild with their own money. Protect your investments, protect your home and protect your family.

A home is not just an investment, but as a lot of people have forgotten, its a place to raise your family. A persons home is their castle, its a place they should feel secure and safe.

After a flood, hurricane, tornado,,,, protect your investment with some good insurance. That way your family can rebuild, and have a place to call their own.

Bugging Out to the Wilderness

My personal opinion, I consider survivalist that plan on bugging out to the wilderness to be the least prepared. These types of people (but not all of them) usually do not test their plans, nor has very much thought been put into the plans.

Back in the mid-1990s I had a buddy whos long term survival plan was to drive about 400 – 500 miles to an out of state national forest. In that unexplored territory, he and his family was going to setup camp and wait for the disaster to pass. Another buddy of mine and I finally talked the guy of of such foolish plans. From there, the three of us started making some solid plans.

Its better to have a remote camp, or some kind of bug out location setup, then to plan on bugging out to the wilderness and living out of a tent. At least with private property you own that land, and nobody can take it from you. With public property, anyone can lay claim to it in a SHTF situation.

This video discusses the concept of bugging out to the wilderness with no test survival skills and no real life experience.

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Kevin Felts was born and raised in southeast Texas, graduated from Bridge City high school Bridge City Texas, and attended Lamar College in Port Arthur Texas.
Hobbies include fishing, hiking, hunting, blogging, sharing his politically incorrect opinion, video blogging on youtube, survivalism and spending time with his family.
In his free time you may find Kevin working around the farm, building something, or tending to the livestock